


Alright

by Lampshadez



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 03:25:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16824151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lampshadez/pseuds/Lampshadez
Summary: Set after "It Takes You Away".  Ryan had been through so much.  He'd traveled across the universe and still maybe felt like he didn't make it far enough.  He needed a friend, and Yaz was there.





	Alright

“Hey, how are you doing?” Yaz asked, sitting with Ryan on the edge of the console room floor. 

“I’m fine,” he said, touching the bandage on his head a bit. “The Doctor patched me up good. I didn’t realize she had actual medical skills.”

“Good,” Yaz said. “That’s not what I meant though.”

“Nan.”

Yaz nodded. “Yeah.”

Ryan shrugged. “I didn’t see her.”

“No, I know,” Yaz said. “I just…must be hard, hey? She was right there, right on the other side of the portal.”

“It was a trap.”

“It was meant to be tempting,” Yaz said. “It’s okay if you were tempted, if you wanted to see her…”

“I did want to see her,” Ryan said. “But I always do. I don’t think that’s going to go away, even if she’s…” He cleared his throat a bit. “Even if she’s gone.”

“She’s with you, you know,” Yaz said. “Somehow, in our universe. You know she’s got an eye on you.”

Ryan smiled a bit. “I know.”

Yaz put an arm around his shoulders (though she did have to reach up a bit).

"I don't know what I would have done," he said. "I don't know how Graham managed to leave."

"It wasn't her," Yaz said. "He knew that, at the end."

Ryan nodded. He had wanted to see her, even if it was a trap. But at the same time, he was scared of what he would have done. He was scared he would've wanted to stay, at least for a little while. He was angry he didn't get the chance to see her, even a fake her, but relieved he didn't have to let her go all over again.

Still, life went on, even when he had a friend with a time machine.

Something strange occurred to Ryan.

“You’re the oldest friend I have,” he said, letting the words out as he thought them.

“What?”

Ryan nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “I mean, my mum’s gone, Nan’s gone, Graham’s only been around for a few years. I’ve got other mates from school and stuff but…I mean, it’s not like I can explain to them what I’ve been up to.”

“What, the Doctor doesn’t show up your in Youtube videos?”

Ryan laughed. “She does, but she doesn’t say she’s a time traveler. At least not outright. I’ve edited out all mentions of her palling around with Queen Victoria.”

“Good idea,” Yaz said. Ryan nodded, but didn’t say much more. “I’m here for you, you know. If you ever want to talk about your Nan or Graham or any of it. Or all of it. I’m here.”

“I know,” Ryan said. He nudged her a bit with his shoulder. “And I’m here for you, too, Yaz, if it gets to you ever.”

Yaz frowned. “Of course it gets to me.”

“Then, I’m here.”

They sat together for a while, enjoying the company they offered to each other. It was so easy to be thrown by how fast-paced everything was when they were travelling, it was nice to just sit.

“I know I didn’t know Grace very well,” Yaz said after a little while. “But she’d be so proud of you, you know.”

“I know.” He smiled a bit.

They sat like that for a while. They’d all hung out together, the four of them, but after a while Graham wanted to be alone, so he was off somewhere else in the TARDIS. The Doctor usually hung out around the console, but she left when she saw Yaz join Graham.

So, the two old friends sat there, taking in their new lives and thinking about their old ones. They felt like things were going to be okay, in a different way than usual. Their travels often included that feeling, and it often meant that they either would survive the trip soon or had just survived it. This was different, this was more long term.

So, on a ledge in a time machine with his oldest friend, Ryan Sinclair felt for the first time in a long time that he was going to be alright.

When he got home that night, he went straight to his room and went through a box he'd barely touched. Grace had been buried with the frog necklace that Ryan gave her, so he didn't have it. He had bought it when he was sixteen, he'd saved up a whole year from his after school job to buy her something nice. It belonged with her.

But Ryan had some of her other jewelry. He pulled out a necklace that belonged to her, a gift she had received from his mother. He put it on.

**Author's Note:**

> When they announced that there were going to be three friends with the Doctor, I wasn't feeling it, but I love them all and their dynamics are so great. Ryan has been through sooooo much. I thought he could use a bit of love so here it is! Also Yaz was v soft in this ep, I loved it. 
> 
> Also! We haven't gotten a ton of looks at this TARDIS but I always loved in the past, the console was on a bit of a platform so people could sit on the edge of it. I like the visual of these two sitting there like that, so that's what I was going for.
> 
> Also also!! This doesn't have to do with the story, but I just read an article from RadioTimes online that pointed out how the whole time the characters were in the Solitract universe, their image was flipped like a mirror because they went through the mirror to get there. So, like, the Doctor usually sonics with her right hand, but she uses her left; her and Graham's hair are parted to the other side than usual, so on. I just thought it was a cool detail and I didn't notice when I watched it. Did anyone else?
> 
> Please let me know what you think! :)


End file.
